Woodward Scotland Health and Safety Traininghttp://woodward-scotland.co.uk
Mon, 14 May 2018 14:52:20 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.3Michael’s Story ~ told by his sister Louisehttp://woodward-scotland.co.uk/michaels-story-told-by-his-sister-louise/
http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/michaels-story-told-by-his-sister-louise/#respondWed, 21 Mar 2018 10:53:17 +0000http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/?p=12125A health and safety campaigner and guest speaker has released a series of videos calling on employers to make positive changes to mark what should have been the year leading up to her brother’s 40th birthday.

In the videos, Louise Taggart talks about her electrician brother, Michael Adamson, who was electrocuted at work in 2005 and she outlines what employers can do to improve health and safety at work.

Louise has made these short videos publicly available and has asked that, should you wish to use them in your own workplace or training provision, you make a donation to Scottish Hazards to aid their preventative work. Donate here

Louise’s mission

Louise hopes the videos will prompt leaders to reflect on their effectiveness, reinvigorate for line managers and supervisors the role they must play in enabling and driving safe behavioursandl give people the courage to speak up when they see something unsafe.

She has also released the videos to help raise money for the health and safety charity Scottish Hazards and to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day.

“I’m on a mission to ensure that lessons are learned from my wee brother’s death so that others are able to return home safe and sound to their loved ones at the end of each and every working day or night.” Louise Taggart

A new website has been launched to help businesses across Scotland improve the health, safety and wellbeing of their workforce.

It contains information on how to develop personalised action plans, as well as training courses. It also offers advice on a wide range of health and well-being topics to make workplaces safer and healthier.

The website is simple to use, search and navigate on any device.

Its concise content structure and clean style will make it easier for businesses to find what they need, when they need it.

“Good workplace health, safety and wellbeing practice isn’t just good for employees – it’s good for business too,’ said NHS Health Scotland’s head of health and work services, Aileen Simpson.

“The new website helps businesses with practical tasks such as developing a health and safety policy or completing a return to work form.

“Its simple guides on a range of topics also provide businesses with practical tips and advice on how to keep their workforces healthy and happy.”

]]>http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/new-workplace-wellbeing-website-launched/feed/0Five of the biggest risks for Health and Safety in 2018http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/five-of-the-biggest-risks-for-health-and-safety-in-2018/
http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/five-of-the-biggest-risks-for-health-and-safety-in-2018/#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 11:02:52 +0000http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/?p=12119Five of the biggest risks for health and safety in 2018

The OSHCR (Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register) warns UK businesses of five risks in 2018 that could damage their workforce and business.

1 AI Introduction

The introduction of automated intelligence in workplaces may cause an increase in anxiety at work and mental health conditions. The fear of losing your job to a robot has been a popular topic in the news this year, and this potential threat to employees may contribute to a rise in workplace stress and anxiety.

2 Remote & Freelance Employees

Hiring remote and freelance employees will become increasingly popular in 2018 with the ability to hire a remote employee who can work from anywhere in the world via the internet. However, problems may arise when remote or freelance employees pop in and out of the office without being properly briefed in regards to health and safety procedures.

3 Influx in Digital & Technology Careers

Digital and tech based careers are big business and this sector will continue to grow in 2018. Yet this office based career may be cause for concern. Poor eyesight and obesity are two of the main healthcare concerns.

Long working hours spent staring at a computer screen can cause damage to the eyes as we strain to focus on work without sufficient breaks.

A screen or laptop that has not been set up to comply with health and safety standards may cause neck and muscles strain along with repetitive strain disorder.

Careers that involve minimal movement can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and teamed with a poor diet, obesity.

4 Antibiotic Resistance

In late 2017 and early 2018, Aussie flu took the UK by storm with a significant increase in cases of flu. Flu can quickly spread in a busy workplace and some healthcare professionals are warning about antibiotic resistance, where a growing number of infections become harder to treat with antibiotics. Infections can include pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea and flu.

5 Machines & Risk of Injury

Using automation and in particular machines in the workplace can help speed up production and increase revenue for a business, but anyone who is responsible or in contact with such equipment must be fully trained on how to operate the machine without considerable risk of injury. OSHCR warns of the potential risk to the health and safety of employees when training is not properly in place.

About OSHCR

OSHCR provides a platform for UK businesses to find and employ the help of professional Health and Safety consultants, from a web-based directory. For more information please visit www.oshcr.org

More needs to be done to support everyone to look after their own health. Empowering people to self-care has many benefits for their short and long term health which is more important as people are living longer.

This year’s theme is ‘engaging and empowering people’ to look after their own health, their family’s health and aims to help individuals take control of their own health throughout their life. This includes helping people better understand how to look after any minor ailments or long-term conditions they may have and how to prevent ill health by choosing healthy options for good physical and mental wellbeing.

Here are some more simple steps to Self-Care for Life and help to prevent avoidable conditions:

Eat well, live well. It is important that we get the nutrients we need and avoid excessive amounts of salt, fat and sugar to improve our diet. Information is available from the NHS Choices website or ask your pharmacist for advice on managing your weight.

Move more! You don’t need to go expensive gyms, just walk the dog, play football with the kids, leave the car at home, ignore the bus, take the stairs, turn up the music and dance!!

Stop smoking – Is one of the biggest benefits to health. Ask your local pharmacist about stop smoking services.

Sleep and relaxation. A good night’s sleep is essential to good physical and mental wellbeing so make sure you get at least 7 hours sleep a night. We have such busy lives that we sometimes forget to take time out to relax. Find time in the day to be still and quieten your mind, holistic exercise such as yoga can also be helpful.

Flu vaccination – Make an appointment for your flu vaccination. It is impossible to get the flu from the flu vaccine because the adult vaccine doesn’t contain live viruses. A very small number of people experience side effects such as aching muscles, but this is simply the immune system responding to the vaccine.

Self-Care Week is running from 13th – 19th November; it is a national awareness week that focuses on embedding support for self-care across communities, families and generations. The theme this year is “Engaging and Empowering people”.

]]>http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/kent-fire-services-dirty-dancing-parody/feed/0VIDEO: How to get started as a health and safety professionalhttp://woodward-scotland.co.uk/video-get-started-health-safety-professional/
http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/video-get-started-health-safety-professional/#respondTue, 05 Sep 2017 08:47:37 +0000http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/?p=12035How to get started in health and safety

Southalls graduate safety consultants Beth Bishop and Paul Parker share their experiences since graduating, and give advice for those looking to get into the industry.

There is no doubt that Health and Safety is a high growth industry, especially following the implementation of the new sentencing guidelines introduced in Feb 2016. It has become a vital part of business management processes and as a result, the number of opportunities within the industry are expanding.

As a graduate you could work in any number of sectors, from manufacturing to oil and gas, working within an individual business, or work as a consultant working with businesses in many different industries. Working as a consultant is very diverse and ideal for those who want variety in their work.

So, what are the key skills?

It helps to be great with people, good at building rapport and being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Problem solving is important too – for example, where some safety inspectors may expect resurfacing a whole yard to remove potholes, suggest resurfacing just parts of it.

String people skills are fundamental in a consultancy role, since it’s all about building trust with your client.

For those wanting to get into Health and Safety, it’s worth exploring what opportunities are out there, including graduate scheme and apprenticeships. Consider what transferable skills you have from previous jobs and experiences, and how this could improve your chances of getting into the industry.

[Adapted from an article by SHP. You can read the full article from SHP here: https://www.shponline.co.uk/video-get-started-health-safety-professional/ ]
]]>http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/video-get-started-health-safety-professional/feed/0Summer 2017 edition of “SafetyNet” Publishedhttp://woodward-scotland.co.uk/summer-2017-edition-safetynet-published/
http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/summer-2017-edition-safetynet-published/#respondFri, 04 Aug 2017 14:33:42 +0000http://woodward-scotland.co.uk/?p=12022We have now published the Summer 2017 edition of “SafetyNet”, our Woodward Alumni Newsletter.

The newsletter can be downloaded here or by copying the following link into your web-browser:

British Airways have created a New Safety Video in collaboration with Comic Relief and some famous faces you’ll probably recognise.

You’ll be able to see it on-board aircraft from 1 September 2017.

Celebrities are seen auditioning in humorous sketches in front of comedian Asim Chaudhry, as Chabuddy G, for a coveted part in British Airways’ new safety video, while simultaneously demonstrating the safety features and procedures on the aircraft.